New Delhi, March 26 ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India announced on Thursday that CEO Dilip Oommen will retire on June 30 after 22 years with the company, including seven years as CEO.
Oommen, 68, will remain involved as a board member of AM/NS India and take on the role of Vice-Chairman of ArcelorMittal India Private Ltd, the steel maker said in a statement.
Amit Harlalka, the company's current CFO, has been appointed as the new CEO effective July 1.
Harlalka joined AM/NS India in December 2019 as Deputy Director, Finance, became CFO in January 2023, and has previously held finance roles across ArcelorMittal operations in Mexico, Zenica, and Luxembourg.
He is a chartered accountant and holds an MBA in finance from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
Aditya Mittal, Chairman of AM/NS India and CEO of ArcelorMittal, praised Oommen for his leadership in establishing the ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel brand in India and expressed confidence in Harlalka's ability to steer the company's growth and safety initiatives.
"Harlalka joined AM/NS India in December 2019 as Deputy Director, Finance before being appointed CFO in January 2023. Prior to that he had spent many years at ArcelorMittal, where he worked in several locations including Mexico (CFO), Zenica (Finance and project controller), and Luxembourg (financial controller)," the statement said.
A chartered accountant and an MBA in finance from IIM-Bangalore, Harlalka started his career at Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
"He has also been appointed a Member of the ArcelorMittal Group Management Committee," it said.
Aditya Mittal, Chairman of AM/NS India and Chief Executive, ArcelorMittal, said: "Oommen, a highly experienced steel industry executive, knew the operations inside-out, brought stability at a time of change, and played a critical role in helping establish trust as ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel brand was built in India.
"As a trusted and long-serving senior executive, most recently as CFO at AM/NS India, Amit has proved himself more than ready to step into the CEO role. He has strong knowledge of the operations and has been intimately involved in the growth plans not only for steel, but also renewables."
Oommen said: "I could not have imagined that we would achieve so much in just over six years. I have been supported by an excellent team including Amit, who is a strong leader with all the right credentials to lead the company during its next exciting phase of growth. I will continue to follow all the developments with great interest and of course will retain a close contact with both AM/NS India and ArcelorMittal going forward."
Harlalka said: "The potential of the company is enormous, and I will be focusing on ensuring we can meet all this potential, starting with our aspiration to be accident free. We have a great team of people who are excited and motivated by the unique opportunity they have to help build Atmanirbhar Bharat. We will have a lot to do, and I can’t wait to get started."